


Sentience

by KnifeBinaryPrince



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sentient Voltron Lions, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-18 14:49:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16997046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KnifeBinaryPrince/pseuds/KnifeBinaryPrince
Summary: Death is seen as an end to one's life.But what if that life never technically ended per se?Where the paladins are dead but not really and how they deal with it and the other elephant in the room that's happened to them. Or...lion in the room really.





	Sentience

**Author's Note:**

> Anon over on tumblr had an amazing au idea set near the end of s7 but not really and it was cool as fuck and dunked on the local yt boy which are like...my two favorite things so ofc I had to write it.

The fall air was dry and crisp, burning the inside of her nose as she breathed in the smell of freshly wet dirt and composting leaves, brushing a few stray strands of hair from the front of her face as she continued walking the well worn path up the hill, a small bouquet of multicolored flowers nestled in the crook of her arm, a few petals scattering in the breeze.

 

It was silent aside from the leaves rustling and the last few songs of the birds before evening would truly hit and shroud the surrounding forested hill in darkness, the small things taking advantage of the last vestiges of light provided.

 

A few minutes later and Veronica reached her destination, stopping to breathe and just take a moment to look out over the city, now rebuilt newer and better than before with help from their alien allies over a year ago. The sun was just dipping behind the buildings, creating a fiery effect that warmed her face and burned into her mind, taking in the setting dusk sun with a new appreciation. An appreciation that became more noticeable and defined with each passing day.

 

Goosebumps appeared over her arms as another cool breeze blew over her skin, ruffling the light skirt she had on and making her regret having worn only that and a simple t-shirt for this particular outing.

 

Her sneakers dipped softly into the ground, creating deep imprints because of last night’s rain. She carefully opened the wrought iron gate, surprisingly not squeaking. It was clear someone had gotten fed up with the noise. And only two people that she knew of could have gotten frustrated enough to go through the trouble.

 

She closed it silently behind her, readjusting the bouquet of flowers in her arms so they didn’t fall to the ground in a heap. Her eyes scanned over rows of grey stone, some mottled with wear and tear while others stood with better care taken, apparent by the splash of color the small bouquets provided that signaled someone had visited recently.

 

Her dark eyes landed on someone, right where she thought they would be. And without another word she walked quickly over to them, face falling in concern as she got a clear view of the figure hunched over the patch of ground in front of one of the headstones, the sight all too familiar nowadays.

 

The figure was doing something, their top half lifting and falling. Judging by the pile of dead plants and weeds beside them she guessed they were digging up the old flowers they had planted last season.

 

“Raquel?” Veronica called softly, stopping her approach just a few feet from her younger sister.

 

Raquel paused with her digging, turning to face her older sister and give her a small smile in greeting.

 

It was strained and forced.

 

Like it had been for the past year.

 

“You bring the bulbs?“ Raquel asked, after a moment was spent in silence.

 

Veronica shifted the bouquet of flowers in her arms, procuring the bag of tulip bulbs Raquel had requested from her yesterday. She had gone down to the new local flower shop in the city and bought them herself, nearly losing a finger when one of the plants had disagreed with how close she was, the owner apologizing profusely and chastising the plant harshly for it’s misbehavior.

 

Having aliens integrated in earth society like they now were would still take some getting used to.

 

“Of course I did. Nearly lost a finger in the process but then again that’s just a regular day.” Her attempt at being lighthearted fell on deaf ears it seemed, her younger sister just taking the bag and opening it. She took a moment to look at the tulip bulbs, letting them weigh heavy in her hands as she inspected them closely. Deeming them fit she went back to work on her digging, having grabbed a fairly good sized stick to dig up multiple adequate holes in the ground to place the bulbs in one at a time.

 

Veronica just stood and watched, eyes looking over the cemetery grounds, a feeling of sadness tugging tight on her heart. “You know, mom was wondering where you were. You missed dinner.”

 

“She shouldn’t.”

 

“What?” A puzzled look passed over Veronica’s face at Raquel’s reply, taking a few steps closer to her side to see her cover one of the bulbs in dirt as gently as she’d ever seen her.

 

“I’m here everyday. She shouldn’t worry or wonder where I am, it’ll never change.” She spoke.

 

“That’s why she’s worried Raquel, it’s…it’s not healthy with you being like this I mean...It’s been a year Raquel.” Veronica spoke, kneeling down and placing a hand on her shoulder.

 

Raquel said and did nothing as minutes passed by just like that. It wasn’t until Veronica saw glistening spots of clean on her sister’s hands which curled in the dirt ground just in front of her bent knees that she realized she was crying silently, her shoulders shaking under her hand.

 

“Raquel-”

 

“No!”

 

The younger shoved her older sister away, moving back until she was seated on the cold, soft ground. Tears fell from her eyes like fresh rain drops, mixing with the dirt from her hands as she wiped at them furiously, face looking torn with an underlying pain and sadness.

 

“N-no, you don’t- you don’t get to tell me to move on! None of you do!” Her voice was choked off, wet sobs making her voice seemed choked off as she tried to breath, heaving in gulps of cold air that only caused her throat to burn drier.

 

“Raquel-”

 

“Three years. Three years we thought he was dead. Forced to hide when the Galra came and fucked everything up. Three years thinking everyday that this was it, this was the day I’d see him again. Then he comes back _ _alive__  and I was nothing but happy, relieved my brother was back. Only to barely get a word in edgewise to him before he’s taken right back out to fight our war.” She was breathing heavily now, coughing into the sleeve of her jacket- Lance’s jacket- before she continued, ignoring the tears that rolled down her face as she spoke.

 

“Now he’s dead and I wasn’t even able to say goodbye! For god’s sake the fucking universe that took him from us couldn’t even give us his body back!” She yelled, eyes blurred with tears as she fell to her knees, sobs overtaking her body, shoulders shaking from the effort.

 

Raquel lashed out as arms encircled her, a hand settling on the back of her head to press her into a firm shoulder even as the other was hit by her anger. Her older sister’s voice was soft and choked up, and the tears she felt soaking the collar of her shirt told her all she needed to know.

 

Raquel sniffled, hiccuping through her sobs as she quieted down, her hands coming up her sister’s back to clutch at her shirt tightly, afraid if she let go she’d fall even more apart than she already was.

 

“I just want my twin brother back.”

 

Veronica clung to her little sister tighter, rocking her softly from side to side like their mother used to do to settle them down when they were upset as little kids, “I know Raquel, I know.”


End file.
